Four Broward and Palm Beach Residents Charged in Multi-Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Defendants Include a Mortgage Broker and Loan Processor

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and J. Thomas Cardwell, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, announced today the unsealing of a superseding indictment charging defendants Anson Joachin a/k/a A.J. Alexandre, 39, of Parkland, Florida, John Fisher, 35, of Jupiter, Florida, Tracey Balli, 35, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and Delano McLennon, 33, of North Lauderdale, Florida, for their participation in a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro in Miami. Defendant Anson Joachin was arrested on Friday, May 7, 2010, in Atlanta, Georgia, where he made his initial appearance and was ordered detained pending his removal to the Southern District of Florida. The remaining defendants will make their initial appearances in Miami next week.

All the defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. Defendants Anson Joachin and Tracey Balli are charged with four counts of substantive mail fraud and four counts of substantive wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341 and 1343. Defendant John Fisher is charged with two counts of substantive mail fraud and two counts of substantive wire fraud. Defendant Delano McLennon is charged with two counts of substantive mail fraud and two counts of substantive wire. In addition, defendants Tracey Balli and Delano McLennon are charged with one count of making a false statement to a government agency, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. If convicted of the conspiracy count, the substantive mail fraud counts and the substantive wire fraud counts, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment on each count. The false statement count carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.

According to the superseding indictment, the defendants engaged in a scheme to enrich themselves by fraudulently causing real property in Broward and Palm Beach Counties to be bought and sold through straw buyers who obtained high value mortgages based upon fraudulent mortgage loan applications. Defendant Anson Joachin orchestrated the scheme, in which defendant John Fisher, a licensed mortgage broker, and Tracey Balli, a loan processor, participated. Defendant Balli recruited straw buyers, including Delano McLennon, to join the scheme.

In order to obtain mortgages on these properties, all of the defendants submitted and caused to be submitted fraudulent documents to various mortgage lenders across the United States. Based on these false documents, the mortgage lenders issued approximately $2,300,000 in loans to the defendants and their co-conspirators.

Special Agent in Charge John V. Gillies stated, “With Florida ranked first once again in the nation for mortgage fraud, it is a reminder that fraud affects all of us. Fraud makes homes artificially more expensive and then leads to homes losing value through neglect. The housing industry is a key component of our economy and combating mortgage fraud will remain a top priority for the FBI.”

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy D. Katz.

An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.